An Arlington Bank Custodian Found $300,000 in the Trash, May Spend Next Decade in Prison

In the early hours of November 16, 2012, Leroy Dukes was making his nightly rounds as part of the nighttime custodial crew cleaning American First National Bank in Arlington when he glanced inside one of the trash cans behind the teller counter.

There, according to a criminal complaint filed recently in federal court, he spotted $300,000 in cash divided into two plastic-wrapped bundles.

Typically, he would have left the bag just outside the bank's door until he finished cleaning. On this night, he took the garbage outside to his boss' car, where he snuck the cash into his sweatshirt bundled in the back seat.

It didn't take long to burn through nearly $30,000. By the time he was interviewed by an FBI agent later that day, he had already purchased two cars, one for himself, one for his girlfriend, and given various amounts to family and friends, according to the criminal complaint.

That's unfortunate for Dukes, since the government formally charged him with one count of bank theft yesterday and is seeking repayment of the cash. At a custodian's salary, it will take a couple years to earn back what he spent, and it's unlikely the feds will be so patient.

Dukes faces a maximum 10 years in prison. Court documents don't say what happened to the bank teller who "inadvertently" left two bundles of cash in the trash, but one imagines that American First National frowns upon such things.

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I don't think the janitor is the true crook here! I think the teller is the crook. How do you 'accidentally' put $300,000 into your trash? I think the Teller put it there with every intention of going back to the Bank after the janitor was done. Then go through the trash & take the money for themselves. One of those 'fool proof plans' that never work for the 'fools'. Now the temptation of taking the trash home with the janitor is causing him to be the 'fall guy'. Too bad. A man without, finds the money stolen by someone else & he can't stop himself from thinking that it is 'meant to be his'. Bless his heart. Living in poverty can cause some people to not think clearly. He could have looked at it as a Blessing.

Thinking about this... the teller could not have been the co-conspirator with the janitor, because before he/she leaves for the day the contracted amount allotted to the teller must be counted with a witness and dropped into the vault (unless bank procedures were not being followed). Otherwise, it must have been one of the higher up muckety-mucks in the bank, who was the last to leave. I think it was the Manager, in the Vault, with the Cash.

It is still a crime because allowing that exception would allow janitors or anyone else that out. The trash can is still in the building. If he found it in the dumpster off the property, it might be different. We have too many people getting their everyday ethics instructions from John Cusack movies (Money for Nothing) than common sense. We call those people the accused or convicts.

@SuperfuzzBigmuff You don't? Everybody knows cash doesn't belong in the trash. Nobody throws it away. At unlikely best it was a mistake on the part of whoever put it there ("I meant to throw it in the cash bucket and missed"), more likely it was deliberate theft. He had an ethical obligation to not only not take it, but to turn it in.

@SuperfuzzBigmuff This is a common crime in retail. Throw something in the trash then grab it out of the dumpster later. He was more than likely working with the one who tossed it(and who ratted him out)

@observist Well you are correct in the sense that a large number of urban/suburban retail workers are black or hispanic but you also have your Obama voting white people who lack a proper work ethic and feel just as entitled to a handout.